Varieties and dimensions of God’s glory – Part 2

I said in my first article in this series that the Hebrew word used for glory in the Old Testament means “heaviness” or “weight.” The word is used to express the worth of a person in the material sense, and also to express importance, greatness, honour, splendour, power, among others.

The book of 1 Corinthians 15:41 reveals that there are varieties of glory. It talks about the glory of the sun being different from the glory of the moon and the stars. Even among the stars, one glory is different from the other. “There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.” (1 Corinthians 15:40-41 NKJV).

Some people saw glimpses of God’s glory in the Old Testament. Moses was one of them; he lived and operated in the realm of God’s glory. He saw the Shekinah glory of God several times, and still desired more (Ex. 16:10; 24: 16; Num.16:19; Lev.9:6, 22-24). On one occasion, he audaciously said to God: “Please show me your glory,” (Exodus 33:18).

Responding in the affirmative to Moses’ request, God allowed His goodness to pass by him and he saw God’s backside. This means, as someone said that: “God’s glory is the display, or parade of God’s goodness.” It also means that there are aspects of God’s glory, which are not visible to man.

Exodus 24:9-18 pictures one of such experiences that Moses had. On God’s invitation, Moses ascended the Mountain of God with Joshua and the elders of Israel. They had a meal with God. Then, God invited Moses alone to come up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, which he was to use to teach the children of Israel. While on the mountain, the glory of God descended. Moses remained on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. “Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. And on the seventh day, He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire at the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights,” (Exodus 24:16-18 – NKJV).

Solomon also experienced the glory of God in the Old Testament. He had the material glory, which Jesus referred to in Matthew 6:29, “and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these,” (Matthew 6:29 – NKJV). At the dedication of the temple, fire fell and the glory of God appeared, “when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord ’s house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3 -NKJV).

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